Humans have spread throughout the solar system which is ruled by the System government based on Earth. Ananke is a super secret System ship out on a trial run with a crew of three. Althea is the programmer primarily responsible for Ananke's unique computer software. She has a far greater attachment to the computer and Ananke than to her fellow crew mates. On their way to Pluto two intruders board the ship. One escapes and dumps a virus into the programming to frustrate their attempts to trace him. The other, Ivan, is held for questioning about their ties to a rebel terrorist Mallt-y-Nos. 

There are two primary mysteries. What kind of ship is Ananke and why is the computer program considered so unique? Does Ivan know who the mysterious rebel leader is and can the inquisitor pick apart his story to find the truth?

The Ananke makes an intriguing setting. The crew insists that its a "research vessel" despite an impressive array of weaponry. Odd that there are no scientists or equipment on board the very large spiral style ship that unlike most sci-fi ships has a gravity gradient with the crew living where the gravity is weakest. The general ambiance is dark and brooding. Ananke's software has gone haywire triggering random lighting and alarms that keep Althea frantic as she tries to find and stop the virus. Unfortunately there is no "Aha!" moment with the Ananke since its obvious that the ship is becoming sentient and the big secret of its propulsion is somehow under whelming despite being one of the few unique aspects of the book.

Ivan uses Scheherazade tactics to hide the identity of the rebel leader and buries it in details. He's the only child of a notorious rebel executed just after he was born. He admits that he escaped System surveillance and became a thief but denies being part of the rebellion. The inquisitor, Ida, is picking apart his stories to get to the truth. His story is interesting as a puzzle but the character of Ida in particular was very one dimensional and the stereotypical ambitious inquisitor of a repressive government. The final revelation of Mallt-y-Nos' identity was satisfying and their big terrorist plan was in fact big and surprising.

Rumor has it that Lightless is the start of a trilogy and is being touted as the next Gravity. The Ananke would make a good setting for a movie but someone would have to give these characters some life. The tyrannical government controls colonies with iron fist setting isn't very original and waving the word terrorist around (even though it is appropriate in this case) actually feels like its related more to current events than the far future. For the most part the pacing of the book was slow with most action at the end and then the climax is on such an enormous scale it overshadows Ananke's new sentience. 

I had a very mixed reaction to this book. Unique sentient ship good. One dimensional characters really bad. Mystery number one, so-so. Number two, not bad. If this is a trilogy I doubt I'll read more unless I'm desperate. If made into movie or series, I'd give it a shot. Only one review regarding the narration which they didn't care for, but that could be more the fault of the book's tone than the narrator.

Lightless (2015) is the first book by C.A. Higgins